NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

Last day of April. Cold. Dull. Wet. Very wet. What better antidote to all of this weather misery than to bathe in the memories of those warm, colourful days of summer with this offering of colour via the mass-flowering of plants, all mostly from a single species. They'll soon be here again... Kidney Vetch, Banstead Downs Wild Carrot, Langley Bottom Common Poppy, Langley Bottom Bluebell, Margery Wood

A visit to any north Surrey deciduous woodland at the moment will be rewarded with literally millions of Bluebells. They are having a good year, and are early - two weeks ago the show at Gatton was virtually at its peak. But in amongst the haze of blue, if you are lucky, you might be able to detect a clash of colour - a purple interloper. Thanks to a tip off from Gordon Hay, my wife and I visited Ranmore Common this morning, to pay homage to a colony of 1,000 spikes of Early Purple Orchid. They were easily found and we spent an enjoyable time in their presence. A fine cross-section of woodland ground flora was also on show. Catch it while you can!

When nature does 'big' there is little that can beat it. A large flock, a hillside smothered in flower, a spectacular sky, each of them can reduce us to an open-mouthed and humbled observer. I have been lucky enough to have witnessed several instances of this during 2016, two of which I share here. Both are botanically themed and both were close to home. The UK is blessed with some of the largest populations of the Bluebell in the world. Locally we have several woods that are home to literally hundreds of thousands (if not a millions) of them. Each year we go along to see them, but to get the timing right, when most of the plants are in good flower, can be hit or miss. In an early year they can peak in late-April, in a late it will be mid-May. To get it wrong is to find plenty yet to open, or a show that is sullied by browning flowers that have gone over. This year however, we timed it to perfection, and it was a good year for them to boot. The following images are from Marge...

The UK is blessed with some of the finest Bluebell woods in the world and now is the peak time to get out and see them! Earlier this year there were quite a few early flowerers reported, but a combination of a dull and cold spell soon kept the masses in check. This past week has seen an injection of urgency into the world of the Bluebell, and yesterday Katrina and I paid Margery Wood, (close to Colley Hill), a visit. It couldn't have been better timed. We were not the only people who had made a special trip to take in this wonderful sight, as couples and families were wandering the simple paths that meander through the woods, cameras in hand, all entranced. The slender, nodding, one-sided stalks were literally in their millions. There were hardly any flowers that had gone over and plenty were still in bud. This show should last a good while yet. The hue of the flowers changed when viewed in full sunlight or dappled shade, from misty mauve to intense blue. I di...